There are many stories on why the 396 gre 30 over into a 402, some are purely stupid, and others kinda make some sence. The one i tend to believe, Chevy did not want a small block to be bigger than there small big block. So, when the 400 small block was introduced in 1970, they bumped up the cubes on there baby big block.
Why play with a 472 when a 500 is there for the pickin?
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500In 1970, Cadillac introduced the largest modern V8, the 500 in³ (8.2 L) Eldorado motor. It was rated at 400 hp (298 kW), but could in actuality produce 435 hp (324 kW) or more. But the emissions and economy restrictions of the 1970s (as well as the switch from gross to net ratings) dropped output to 235 hp (175 kW) (for the Eldorado) and 220 hp (164 kW) (for the rest) in 1971.
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